Kill the Spare
by Edcetera
Summary: Harry's body moved. He didn't think about it, he just moved. There's no way he was going to let someone die, not if he could stop it. He knew that he'd die, but he didn't care. If it was him, he could take it. And that's how Cedric survived the Goblet of Fire and the Horcrux in Harry's head was removed three years sooner than planned.**NOT A CEDRIC/HARRY STORY**
1. Meet the Parents

"_Kill the Spare._" they heard the high-pitched voice seemingly hiss.

Harry's mind, full of adrenaline from the tournament and being transported to an unfamiliar area, began working overdrive. In what felt like minutes but couldn't have been more than a few hours Harry's mind worked out many possible conclusions. But one seemed the most likely, especially with his track record.

That option was it was Voldemort, he'd interfered with his first two years at Hogwarts, but his luck wasn't going to let him go two straight years without him showing up once again, the stain on his record. It would explain why Harry's name was put in the goblet, so Voldemort could end his life, so the one person who'd seemingly defeated him could be put in the ground.

The moment Harry's mind processed this he heard the sound of a wand swishing and words that haunted his nightmares, "_Avada Kedavra!_" Harry recognized the voice, but now wasn't the time for thought, now was the time for action. Harry knew that, in Voldemort's eyes, he wasn't a spare, so that sentence could mean only one thing; Cedric was about to be killed.

Harry couldn't let that happen. His subconscious, his entire being knew he couldn't just let someone die, especially if he could stop it. So, his body moved. Guessing where the voice was, the moment those haunting words were spoken Harry moved. Harry placed himself between where he assumed the voice was coming from and Cedric.

The pain in his scar made him want to fall to his knees and scream in agony, but he wouldn't. He couldn't. If Cedric died, it would be all his fault and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if that happened. So, Harry persevered and looked Cedric in the eye, his mouth slightly agape in surprise and his eyes seemed confused and worried. Harry stared back into those eyes with a determined look in his last moments of life. Harry saw the green light on Cedric's face right before it hit him.

-HP-

* * *

Harry was facedown. That much he was sure of. And for the first time, there was silence. He was alone, for the first time in forever. And, unlike the cupboard under the stairs, he felt at peace here. Is this what death was like?

He laid there for a while, or no time at all, wondering if he even existed anymore. It was then he realized that he could feel whatever surface he was laying on. Which meant it existed. Which also meant he existed. Hermione would be proud of that deductive reasoning.

Thinking of Hermione gave him some regrets over his actions. He'd not be able to see Ron and Hermione again. But, he hoped they'd understand.

Harry decided to get up, which is when he realized he was entirely naked. Since he was convinced he was alone, his nudity didn't bother him. He wondered then, that if he could feel, could he see? He tried to open his eyes and discovered that yes, he could indeed see.

When he opened his eyes, he discovered he was in a mist unlike any mist he'd seen before. The mist didn't block his sight, but rather that the mist had yet to make sights to see.

Harry looked down to himself, he was unscathed and didn't seem to have his glasses. He heard a noise, a small thumping of something that flailed and struggled. The noise was pitiful, and for the first time since dying, Harry wished he had clothes. He didn't expect, however, for robes to appear a short distance away.

He grabbed them and pulled them on, surprised at how soft and warm they were. Harry was about to go and investigate the noise when the previously blank place he was in, formed a living room. Strangely, some part of him recognized this place, but Harry was almost certain that he'd never been here before.

He looked around and spotted two figures. He had seen these people before. Never in person, but photos. It was his parents. Lily and James Potter.

They smiled at him and he ran, like a little child, into their arms. He was apologizing, but he wasn't paying any mind into what he was saying, he was with his parents.

He didn't know how long it was before his mother pushed him off and looked him in the eye, "There's so much I'd like to say with so little time."

Harry looked at her, a myriad of emotions on his face. He was confused, hurt, worried, and so much more. "Little time? Aren't I dead?"

James smiled gently at him, "That's all up to you, my son."

"But aren't you guys dead?" Harry asked.

Lily nodded and Harry continued, "So shouldn't I be dead?"

Lily shook her head, "That depends. When Voldemort killed us and tried to kill you, a piece of his soul got lodged into you. That's what you heard dying before. Dumbledore could probably make some sort of guess to figure out why, but you can still live. All you need to do is walk through that door, and you can rejoin the living."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment, he looked to both his parents, the thing he wanted for most, if not all, of his life. Lily knew what he was thinking and smiled at him. She was his mother and would stand by any choice he made, even if she couldn't truly understand how he felt.

When Harry's eyes landed on his father, the man who he was always compared to, the man that, in a way, he always tried to emulate, James nodded. He knew exactly how Harry felt, he'd become an Animagi for his friend at the risk of himself, he understood that Harry wouldn't stay with them, not when he had people he had to help.

Harry tackled them both with a hug, he could feel the tears flowing down his face, but he didn't care. Once Harry felt he was ready and looked to the door. He looked to Lily and James, "I'm sorry," He said. Then he walked to the door.

Before he went through the door, he heard his parents' response. "There's nothing to be sorry for, we understand. We just want you to know we're proud of you and will always love you."

-HP-

Cedric heard Harry's body hit the ground before his brain even realized what had happened. Harry had sacrificed himself for him. His rival, his competitor. He knew then, that Harry outshone them all. Not because he wanted to, but because he didn't. And now he was dead. And it was all Cedric's fault. If only he'd been paying more attention, reacted faster, anything! Then, maybe Harry wouldn't be dead.

Cedric wasn't given much time to wallow in his self-loathing, because that same voice that uttered the words that would haunt Cedric's nightmares spoke again: "_Hurry!_"

It was then Cedric took in his surroundings, there was a bundle with something fretfully stirring within it, and a cloaked man stirring a bubbling cauldron.

"It is ready, Master." The cloaked man said.

"_Now…_" The cold voice hissed.

As the words registered the cloaked figure removed the robe and Cedric saw something terrifying, like the worst thing he'd ever seen - but worse, a hundred times worse. It was like a human baby but entirely hairless, scaly, and with gleaming red eyes.

Cedric reflexively took a few steps back at the sight, right as the figure put that thing in the cauldron. Cedric watched as the figure grabbed a bone from a grave and put it in the cauldron saying something, but Cedric wasn't really listening. His mind was still replaying the moment Harry died.

The figure then cut his hand off and began moving to Harry's body. Cedric wanted to stop the figure, he wanted to yell at him, cast a spell, something, anything. But he couldn't. He was frozen in place.

And so, the figure cut Harry's arm and put the blood in the cauldron. And out came a mist, and in it, Cedric saw the outline of a tall man rising from the cauldron.

"Robe me." The voice said, and with a start, Cedric realized that it was the same voice that'd said those words. "Kill the Spare." Cedric took a step forward as the figure robed the monster.

The mist vanished and there, looking right at him with red eyes that seemed to freeze every bone in his body, as if he'd just stared at a basilisk, was a figure he'd seen only in history books. Voldemort.

"Pettigrew, I thought I told you to kill the spare."

"P-P-Potter jumped in the way, m'lord." The figure, Pettigrew, said.

"Hm, that's one nuisance taken care of. You'll make for a good plaything. Pettigrew, your arm."

Pettigrew moved his bloody stump, "No, no, the other one."

Pettigrew gave him his other arm, "They must've all noticed it was back," Voldemort put his wand on the mark on Pettigrew's arm, "Now we wait for them to arrive by toying with the spare." The taunt and emphasis on spare wasn't lost on Cedric, but he was too scared to do anything about it.

It was then that a groan could be heard across the graveyard. It had come from Harry's body.

-HP-

* * *

Harry could feel his senses returning. He could feel the cut on his arm and he couldn't stop the groan from escaping. _'Love you too.'_ He thought, hoping his parents could hear him. He slowly got up and opened his eyes and was looking straight into the red eyes.

"Well...fuck." Honestly, Harry was too emotionally drained for the fear to set in, and so his filter was a little loosened.

Voldemort's face showed surprise for a moment before it smoothed out. "So, Potter, you survived a killing curse for the second time? Truly, if you weren't a disgusting half-blood I might feel an iota of respect for you."

Harry slowly stood up, he felt very sore, more so then before he'd been hit by the killing curse, it seemed coming back to life wasn't easy on the body. "I don't need your respect, Riddle. _Accio Cedric!_"

Voldemort paused for a moment upon hearing that name, before it quickly morphed into anger. "Where did you hear that name?" He demanded.

Harry said nothing to Voldemort, "_Accio!_" He pointed his wand at the cup and it came flying to him. Harry grabbed Cedric right as the cup flew into his hands. He felt the pull behind his naval as the portkey worked. He let out a sigh of relief as Voldemort's shout of fury left him, he hadn't been sure it worked two ways. Cedric seemed to have passed out when the portkey teleported them.

Harry felt himself land face down on the ground, gripping Cedric's unconscious body and the cup tightly in each hand. Shock, sadness, and exhaustion threatened to consume him, and he wanted to let them.

Then someone grabbed him and turned him over, "Harry! _Harry!_"


	2. Interrogation

_**Hey everyone! The author here to give a quick message and to let you all know the scheduling of when updates for this story will come out. First things first, when will updates for this story come out? The answer to that is the second Sunday of every month. I'd update more, but with college, I don't have the time. As for the other message, I saw some good questions in the reviews for this story and will begin answering reviews at the end of every even-numbered chapter. With that out of the way, on to where we last left off!**_

* * *

"Harry! _Harry!_"

Harry heard someone calling for him, he thought he knew that voice, but he was too tired to put much thought into it. Slowly and reluctantly, Harry opened his eyes.

Harry could see the starry night above him. It gave him a strange feeling of calm. Harry chose to believe it was one last thing from his parents, the energy to make it through the rest of the night.

Crouched over him was the familiar form of Albus Dumbledore, and Harry realized that's where he recognized the voice from. Harry didn't pay any attention to the crowd around him, the fact that he'd returned just outside the maze, or the ground shaking from the people's footsteps all around him. All that mattered right now was telling Dumbledore.

Harry let go of the cup and reached out for Dumbledore's arm to pull himself up. He didn't let go of Cedric and instead grabbed him tighter. Dumbledore seemed to be deep in thought before then returning to reality, switching between the two as Harry pulled himself up.

"He's back," Harry whispered to Dumbledore. "Voldemort's back."

"What's going on? What's happened?" Harry heard Cornelius Fudge ask from behind him. It sounded scared, appalled even. Harry mostly blocked him out, however, waiting for Dumbledore to respond. That was until Fudge's next words, "My God – Diggory! Dumbledore, he's dead!"

Harry's eyes immediately widened and in shock and quickly looked to see if Cedric was breathing. Harry knew there was almost no way Cedric could've died, but he didn't know for certain until he checked, and he had to know.

Harry could've let out a sigh of relief when he saw the subtle rise and fall of Cedric's chest. He heard those words being muttered throughout the crowd, some people began shouting it.

"No!: Harry yelled, the crowd went quiet. Harry looked a bit bashful in his tired state at his outburst, "I mean – he's not dead. Just passed out," Harry told the crowd, hoping Dumbledore would say something.

Luckily for Harry, Dumbledore did say something. "Harry's right, Cornelius, Cedric is merely unconscious."

Harry couldn't see him, but he had the distinct feeling Fudge was a bit upset at being wrong in front of so many people.

Dumbledore pulled Harry behind him, Cedric still in Harry's grip, and began talking with Fudge, and other people Harry didn't recognize, or did but couldn't quite make out.

He could tell that they were talking, but he didn't register what they were saying. His mind was a million miles away. Trying to etch his parents permanently into his memory. He heard Dumbledore tell him to stay, but if he had to stay then - "Wait!" He motioned Cedric's body to Dumbledore, "Take him to the Hospital Wing, he needs it, please," Harry pleaded to Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded and took Cedric's body from Harry.

Once Dumbledore took Cedric, reminding Harry to stay as he did so, Harry once again got lost in his own thoughts. That was until someone larger and stronger than him began dragging him through the crowd saying he was taking him to the Hospital Wing. Harry tried to put up some resistance, but It was feeble at best. Once they entered Hogwarts the _clunk clunk clunk_ gave it away as Mad-Eye Moody.

He was asking what happened after he was portkey'd from the maze. Harry disjointedly and tiredly told him, not telling the man of his 'death' and meeting with his parents.

He brought Harry into his office, sitting him down, giving him a potion before asking him more questions. Harry answered each question, but when he remembered there was a Death Eater at Hogwarts he tried to get up, but Moody stopped him and said he knew who the Death Eater was.

Moody then went into a mad explanation that he was that Death Eater. He kept asking about whether Voldemort forgave the Death Eaters but Harry kept going back to the fact that Moody, _Dumbledore's friend Moody_ could be a Death Eater. Moody went into detail about how it was him all along, how he was Voldemort's most faithful servant.

Throughout his tirade, both Moody's eyes were on Harry. He didn't see the foggy shapes in the Foe-Glass that materialized as four distinct people, one rushing ahead of the others. Harry, however, did.

As Moody was about to cast a spell at Harry, harry heard two distinct words from behind Moody.

"_Bombarda_" "_Stupefy!_" Then a loud boom and great splintering, Moody's door blasting into little tiny pieces and a flash of red light as Moody was thrown to the floor.

Harry, still looking where Moody had been a moment ago, saw Dumbledore, Cedric, Snape, and McGonagall in the now broken doorway. Dumbledore just in front of Cedric, his wand outstretched as was Cedric's.

No words can describe how terrifyingly powerful Dumbledore was in that moment. There was no twinkle in his eyes, a visage of cold fury on his old face, and radiating power that it felt as if he were giving of burning heat and Harry felt a few pounds pressing down on him like an increase in gravity.

McGonagall went to bring him to the Hospital Wing, but Dumbledore told her to stay, that Harry needed to see this. Dumbledore then explained that this wasn't Moody, and told Snape to get a truth potion. He then sent McGonagall to Hagrid's hut for a black dog. Cedric looked thoroughly confused, and Harry just watched the old Headmaster as he commanded the two teachers.

Dumbledore then went to Moody's trunk, unlocking each one until he found the real one, unconscious at the bottom. Dumbledore explained to Harry and Cedric why Moody was kept alive, and they watched in horrid fascination as the faux Moody changed into Barty Crouch Jr.

Shortly after Snape and McGonagall returned with Winky behind them. Snape gave Crouch the Truth Potion, but Harry wasn't listening. He knew he should be, but he couldn't focus on what's around him. His mind just kept going back to his parents. He couldn't help but think of their conversation. How he wished they had more time. But he'd made his choice.

But who could he tell? He had to tell Remus and Sirius, and Ron and Hermione, that was for sure. But other than that, he wasn't sure. It was such a private moment he didn't want to tell anyone else. Harry had just decided not to tell anyone when Dumbledore addressed him.

"Harry?" Dumbledore said to him, his voice gentler than normal.

Harry began to slowly get up, the pain in his leg returning in full force causing Harry to shake. Dumbledore and Cedric grabbed each of his arms and began to help him out of the room.

Dumbledore turned to Cedric, about to ask him to go to the Hospital Wing, but Harry shook his head. "He deserves to know, and I trust him." Really, Harry just wanted someone else there to tell part of the story. Before they entered Dumbledore's office, Harry looked to Cedric, silently imploring him to not tell them about Harry taking another Killing Curse quite yet. He wasn't sure Cedric go the message, but Cedric gave him a small nod and Harry hoped he did.

They entered the oak door from the spiral staircase, and standing there was Sirius Black. He looked as pale as when he'd escaped Azkaban despite having been 'free' for at least a year. He went to cross the room but Cedric drew his wand in alarm.

"It's alright Mr. Diggory," Dumbledore began in his calm tone, "it's quite the long explanation, and one best left for a night not as full of tragedy as tonight. There is another more urgent tale to be told tonight."

Cedric put away his wand and Sirius immediately went up to Harry. "Harry, are you all right? What happened?" Sirius helped Harry into a seat as he asked these questions, Dumbledore began telling Sirius everything that Barty Crouch had said in his mad rant.

Cedric took a seat next to Harry, neither entirely listening. As much as they tried to avoid it, their minds kept wandering back to the terrifying figure that is Voldemort. They both knew they'd only got out on luck and circumstance, something that wasn't likely to repeat itself.

Fawkes left his perch, flying across the office in a flap of his wings onto Harry's knee.

"Hey, Fawkes," Harry said in a whisper while Cedric stared in amazement at the Phoenix. Harry felt comforted by the warm weight of the Phoenix on him.

Dumbledore stopped talking and sat down opposite Harry and Cedric. He looked between the two of them, Cedric avoiding his gaze and Harry preparing himself for the questions he knew were coming.

"I need to know what happened after the Portkey took you both from the maze," Dumbledore said.

"We can leave that till morning, can't we Dumbledore?" Sirius asked rather harshly. He walked behind the two boys and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "They've had a long day, let them sleep. Let them rest."

Harry felt thankful in that moment for Sirius. He felt bone tired and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. Tonight had been more eventful than anything Harry wanted to experience. Cedric could also probably use the sleep, he hadn't been given whatever strange potion Crouch had given Harry.

Dumbledore ignored Sirius's words and leaned toward the two boys, unwillingly both met his eyes. "If I thought I could help you by putting you two into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about tonight's events, I would do it immediately. But I know better. Numbing the pain, pushing it down, will only make it worse for when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of wither of you, more than any student should ever be forced to show. I, however, must ask for a little more tonight, I ask of you to show that courage one last time and tell us what happened."

Fawkes let out a soft trill that shivered in the air. Harry and Cedric felt as if that trill entered their ears and to their brain, strengthening them.

Harry decided to begin. He told them of the graveyard, of the voice telling those words, "_Kill the spare," _how Harry tackled Cedric out of the way of the Killing Curse but hit his head on a rock and passed out.

Cedric took over from here. Telling them how he was upset at himself for almost having been killed, about the voice speaking more, how the man, Pettigrew the voice called him, cut off his arm, took a bone from the grave, and cut Harry's arm while he was unconscious. How from the cauldron, Voldemort stepped out. He told them of Voldemort taunting him, and Harry waking up.

Harry once again took over here, telling them how he woke up Voldemort's red eyes, how Voldemort also taunted him, how Harry quickly _Accio_'d Cedric's body and the cup, hoping the cup would take them back. They knew everything else from there.

Every now and then Sirius would make a noise as if he wanted to say something, but Dumbledore stopped him. Once Harry finished what had happened, he remembered something, "Wait! Professor, if Voldemort's body is made from my blood...does that mean he?" Harry couldn't finish his sentence, couldn't say that Voldemort had passed his mother's protection.

Dumbledore seemed to get what Harry was implying, and gravely nodding his head, "Most likely. I will say this again, You have both shown bravery beyond anything anyone expected of you tonight. You have both shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort during the last war. You have both shouldered a burden greater than even the average adult wizard could carry and found yourselves equal to it – and now you've given us all we have a right to expect. You will both come with us to the Hospital Wing. I do not want either of you returning to the dormitory tonight. A Sleeping Potion and some peace...Sirius, would you like to stay with Harry?"

Sirius nodded, stood up, and transformed back into the large back dog that was the Grimm. Dumbledore escorted Cedric and Harry to the Hospital Wing, where Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, Hermione, and the Diggory's were grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. When the door opened, they all turned to look at who it was. As much as Harry wanted to talk to his friends, he much more wanted to sleep. He didn't hear much the conversation around him and instead when he was lied down on the bed and drank the potion Madam Pomfrey gave him without question.

He felt himself being consumed by sleep. His exhaustion helping the potion in carrying him along to sleep. Almost immediately, Harry had fallen asleep.

* * *

_**Welcome to the Review Pit, where I respond to reviews for the previous chapter, sometimes with ones before it if they're really good questions.**_

**Orangefalcon:_ That was actually something I thought about too, my original plan for this story was Harry dying in that moment, but I decided to change it. I decided to be a bit more vague about it, since it was Voldemort commanding Pettigrew to cast the spell, and Harry willingly sacrificed himself knowing he would die, it still only killed the Horcrux if he so chose to go back._**

**LadyJaguar1:_ Glad you enjoy the premise and hope you enjoy the future chapters!_**

**jps986: _I did PM you about your review, so I won't go too into the specifics, but I feel this is important enough to answer again so everyone sees. Harry is sore, he addresses it himself going "it seems death isn't easy on the body" Now the simi-horcrux from the ritual wasn't required, but I felt it made the transition from alive to dead to back alive easier, there will be some consequences to him coming back without it here. And the magical backlash did affect the ritual, it just won't be seen until later in the story._**

**RebelliousOne: _Sad to say he does say, as you saw in this chapter. I appreciate your love for the concept!_**

**Zoom99:_ No promises there, you'll just have to wait and see! ;)_**

**Saphy99: _I'm glad you like the idea, Cedric's survival was really the opening concept for this story, the horcrux being destroyed sooner was simply a by-product of that idea. I hope you enjoy the coming chapters as much as you did the last one and as much as I enjoy writing them!_**

**_That's it for this month folks! See you guys next month with Chapter 3, where Harry reunites with Ron and Hermione and has a much-needed talk with Cedric!_**


End file.
